September 2002
Bureaucracy, Finance, Industry, Legal, Media, Politics Following the resignation of Sean Bowden, the search continues for a candidate to replace him as the city’s Chief Councillor. Few appear to want the job, as would be applicants from a variety of fields have turned the offer down. Suitable applicants need to be found soon to prevent the council from falling under the control of an outside jurisdiction. Some claim that the reluctance is due to the negative criticisms aimed at the previous regime and the apparent lack of support from the city’s industry, especially GAOM. Bureaucracy, Legal, Police, Politics, Transport Arguments continue over the role of Castelan during the action against a terrorist cell operating in the city that lead to the destruction of large parts of the M6 Motorway and the deaths of at least twenty people. Castelan claim that they were operating under the jurisdiction of the government, who had requisitioned their equipment for an operation within the boundary’s of the city. However, government agencies are keen to point out that Castelan contacted them for aid in dealing with the terrorist group. Independent analysts also point out that there were no terrorist groups, apart from G8 Suppress, operating in the city and that they were not connected with this event. Whoever was responsible for the operation, it seems unlikely that the city will be able to recover the massive debt without recourse to legal action against one or more parties. Finance, Industry, Legal, Media, Police, Politics Speculation is rife that Castelan will not be asked to repeat their tender for policing the city when their current contract runs out. This in turn led to a further drop in the share price of GAOM and subsequently other share prices in the city. The loss of such a large company and employer would devastate the local economy. However, industrial analysts point out that GAOM claim that when they were given the original contract for an indefinite period and that the city’s council is rescinding on the deal it made two years ago for political reasons. With the resignation of Sean Bowden it seems likely that the anti-Castelan elements of the council have lost their greatest exponent. One thing is sure, the argument for and against the use of a private police force will continue. Finance, Industry, Media, University Reed Enterprises commentated that the recent (albeit temporary) loss of their service was due to technical difficulties caused by the failure of one of its satellites. The company has continued to thrive under the leadership of Charles O’Brien, who took over the company after the death of its founder, Julian Scott-Brown. Both Reed and Megacorp continue to trade steadily within the city, despite what appears to be a general downturn in local economic strength. Reed stated that the technical problems have been ironed out following consultation with the city’s universities over the matter. Finance, Media, Occult, Police, University A number of pieces believed to have originated at the dig site at Keele University have surfaced and have been returned to the university by anonymous financial institutions. Little is known about the origins of the artefacts, which show signs of Egyptian influenced design. Speculation that they are in some way connected to the visiting dignitaries has been dismissed, given the general nature of the site and the violent struggle that is believed to have occurred there. Street, Underworld Although it has been speculated that the pieces taken from the university dig site have been fenced on the open market in the city, no one seems to know anyone who was in anyway been connected with the event. Neither the Gambino’s, nor the Sandernacht group, has the kind of specialist personnel required to pull off such a heist, or at least are not admitting such. High Society, University Word has it that the Egyptian pieces found at a local university may have been an elaborate hoax by students on the campus. If this is true, then the persons responsible should be congratulated for pulling of such a successful prank, as more and more so called experts fly into the city to assess the artefacts. Media, Politics, Street Despite the media spotlight on the city with regards to terrorist groups operating in its boundaries, the splinter group of G8 Suppress is still in hiding. Little has been heard of them since the start of their high profile campaign earlier in the year and some are beginning to speculate that they may have gone into permanent hiding. However, given that the flow of illegal firearms onto the city’s streets seems to have been dried up, others have come to the conclusion that they could be arming themselves for forthcoming action. Whatever the reason, G8 Suppress remains an unknown threat in the city, and will continue to be so until they are caught. Church, Industry, Politics The funding of church politics by big business in the city continues to split the church, with some denominations seeking to distance themselves from what seem as a corrupting influence, whilst others say that the company’s are merely trying to atone for past sins. GAOM, however, remain distinctly unwelcome, no matter what the policy of the faith otherwise, as many fear that they could just as easily target religious groups in a similar manner as they did minority groups last year. The city’s councillors have removed themselves from the argument, stating that the individual stance of a given faith with regards to business donations is a matter of personnel choice. Health, Industry, Underworld, University Researchers at the city’s universities have made a breakthrough in combating the virulent flu strain that has been gripping the city since the beginning of the year. Professors at Keele University, working in close conjunction with local industry and the health department, believe that they have formulated a vaccine that will prevent the further spread of the illness. However, they are keen to stress that it is still at the testing stage and it is not yet known whether there are any negative side effects. However, the results are so far proving encouraging, with 90% of test subjects failing to contract the virus on exposure. Underworld The story about a supposed breakthrough at the university with regards to the manufacture of a vaccine is a con. The university has been working with GAOM to develop chemical control systems for crowd dissipation during the riots, but have been using the viral outbreak in the city as a smokescreen. Police, Street Someone in the city appears to be manufacturing chemical weapons, or at least chemically dependent weapons, although who would have the necessary facilities remains a mystery. However, the Gambino’s are recently believed to have taken possession of a large quantity of petroleum derived chemicals, although this could just be propaganda put out by the Sandernacht group.